12 Reasons You Should Be Proud To Be Alive In 2014

2014 has been an amazing year! Celebrate pride this year with all your loved ones and Allstate. Because everyone deserves to be in good hands.

1. Michael Sam publicly came out and became the first openly gay NFL player.

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He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in May.

2. Zakhele Mbhele became the first openly gay member of parliament in South Africa.

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His election win is of significant importance in a time when many countries in Africa still criminalize homosexuality.

3. Ellen Page came out at a Human Rights Campaign conference.

Jeff Bottari / AP,Jeff Bottari

You can watch the speech here.

4. Denmark became the first European country to stop requiring a clinical diagnosis of “gender identity disorder” for trans employees.

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Read more about the issue here.

5. Djuan Trent, Miss Kentucky 2010, came out with a blog post.

Joey Foley / Contributor / Getty Images

6. Under the expanded view of Title IX, transgender students can now assert their rights when discriminated against by schools in the U.S.

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7. Laverne Cox was featured on the cover of Time.

Robin Marchant / Contributor / Getty Images

She is the first transgender individual to ever be featured on the cover!

8. The Indian Supreme Court ruled that the state recognize transgender people and take steps to address the discrimination and harassment against them.

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Read more about the issue here.

9. Harvey Milk became the first openly gay official to appear on a U.S. stamp.

Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press / MCT

10. Australian sports codes launched an initiative to stop homophobia in sports.

11. England, Wales, and Scotland legalized same-sex marriage.

Neil Hall / Reuters

A rainbow flag flies with the Union flag above British Cabinet Offices, marking the first day Britain has allowed same-sex marriages in London on March 29, 2014.

12. Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Illinois became the next states in which legal same-sex marriage went into effect this year!

Yong Kim/Philadelphia Daily News / MCT

Happy Pride Month!

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